Page 74 of Balancing Act

“Can I help you?” Jamie smirked.

Amanda’s grin only widened. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just wondering where you’ve been keeping this sparkly, shiny version of my oh-so-serious best friend.”

Jamie rolled her eyes, ignoring her comment but not attempting to hide her smile as she reached for the glass of water in front of her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said facetiously.

“Well, if you don’t tell me, I’ll have to fill in some blanks myself, and I’m going to guess that the reason you’re so shiny these days starts with the letter B.”

Jamie shifted in her seat, feeling a warm flush creeping up her neck despite the cool air still clinging to her clothes. “Yeah, it does.” Her body melted into those words as all the unease she had been carrying the last few months evaporated.

Amanda’s eyes lit up with delight. “Fuck yes!” she cheered, as she clapped her hands together.

Jamie, bemused, glanced around the restaurant at Amanda’s excited outburst, but the smile on her face was impossible to hide.

“Oh my God. I have so many questions!” Amanda beamed as a waiter placed a plate of spring rolls between them, and they each dug in. “Are you, like, official? What’s it like dating an older woman? Have you boned yet? Never mind, I don’t want to know that. Are you going to do the distance thing? Does Lily know? Oh God, does Sarah know?”

Jamie laughed at Amanda’s rapid stream of questions as she bit into the crunchy spring roll, buying herself a few moments before responding.

“It’s been a perfect few weeks. We haven’t officially labeled anything; we’re taking it slow and seeing where things go.”Naturally, Amanda had several follow-up questions and didn’t hold a single one back. Jamie caught Amanda up on everything that had happened since Amanda had given her the lecture about getting out of her own way.

“So, yeah, we’re seeing each other now,” she finished.

Amanda leaned forward, her elbows on the table. “You look happy, Jamie. Like, really happy.”

Jamie glanced down at her hands, rubbing her thumb over a small scratch on the table’s wood. “I am,” she admitted. And it was the truth.

Amanda’s gaze was soft and full of understanding of all it had taken for Jamie to get herself here to this point. “I love this for you.”

Jamie glanced up, meeting Amanda’s eyes, catching the sincerity in her friend’s words. It was still hard for her to believe sometimes.

“I kind of love this for me, too,” Jamie admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m excited, Amanda. I don’t think I’ve been excited since the 2015 world championships.” She took another bite of the spring roll, thinking.

“So, when’s the wedding?” A broad smile stretched across Amanda’s features as Jamie placed a well-aimed kick at her shins under the table.

Jamie smiled, grateful for Amanda’s unwavering support. Before she could respond, the waitress arrived with their steaming bowls of pho.

They spent the rest of the dinner talking about lighter things, Amanda filling Jamie in on some business items about the gym and a few new prospective elite gymnasts she had her eye on. They had nearly finished their dinner when Amanda’s tone shifted.

“I got an interesting call last week,” she started.

“Yeah? From who?”

“Do you remember Shannon York?”

Shannon York... Jamie racked her brain, trying to recall the face that went with the name.

“The soccer player?”

Amanda nodded. “Yeah. She and a few other athletes are trying to start an investment group focused on elevating women’s sports. They’re looking for founders. To be honest, it sounds like a cool idea. I don’t have the time right now, but I was thinking...” Jamie watched as she pushed her noodles around her bowl.

“When you do that, I usually end up paying,” Jamie joked.

“I think it would be a good opportunity for you.”

Jamie mulled it over as she absentmindedly stirred her pho. The idea of joining an investment group for women’s sports was intriguing. Shannon York, whom she had met several times as an athlete on the world stage, had always been a powerhouse. Jamie had recalled her to be kind, and if she was at the helm of this new venture, it had the potential to be significant. But it also came with a lot of weight—responsibility, commitment, and visibility—which gave her pause.

The last time she had been in any kind of spotlight, it felt like everything in her life had turned upside down.